Prominent journalist, Hamdi Kandil, is scheduled to appear before court on charges of libel and defamation of Egypt's foreign minister, Ahmed Abul Gheit.

The court case is scheduled for November 20, just one week before the country's parliamentary polls. Kandil published an article in the Egyptian independent Shorouq newspaper in May, criticizing the Emergency Law and the decision made to export gas to Israel.
 
Observers believe that the story received a great deal of attention since Kandil is the media spokesman for the newly emerging political opposition group, the National Association for Change, founded by former IAEA chief, Dr Mohamed El-Baradei.